Download - Africa Regional Sexuality Resource Centre

Language and communication
are central to human sexuality
in all its ramifications.
Human sexuality refers to the
gamut of human sexual
experience (biological, social, cultural and
psychological), and to the gamut of
human sexual expression, otherwise
referred to as the expression of sexuality.
In the formulation by Michelle Foucault in
his world famous The History of Sexuality,
human sexual experience can be
appraised in terms of the production of
desire, sexual self awareness and sexual
agency. These aspects of sexuality involve
language and communication at every
stage of the process. Like all human
phenomena, sexuality generates its own
language and concepts.
Sexual awareness is formed in language
and is expressed through language. Child
sexual awareness begins with the
appreciation of anatomical differences
and the linguistic identification of
intimate anatomy. This may also include
the definition of relevant sexual organs
and the elaboration or non-elaboration of
their uses. Child curiosity about sex is
expressed through language and is
resolved through communication.
Sexual agency on the other hand refers to
the role of the individual at every stage in
t h e s e x u a l p r o c e s s , f r o m
inauguration/first contact to conclusion.
T h e p r o d u c t i o n o f d e s i r e a n d
procurement of, or participation in, sexual
activity involves such as initiation,
negotiation, reciprocation, rejection,
p a r t i c i p a t i o n a n d s e v e r a n c e o r
disengagement. Since sexual activity
t y p i c a l l y i n v o l v e s p a r t n e r i n g ,
communication is crucial to the
actualisation of sexual agency and the
actualisation of the sexual self. Sexual
agency is also about relative power
positioning in sexual relations, and this
positioning reflects in the terms used to
describe sex related activities.
Mediation in History, Culture and
Language
Sexual experience and sexual expression
are modified by factors of history, society
and culture. Again in terms formulated by
Foucault, subjective experience functions
as 'filters' through which individuals
appreciate and approach the meaning of
sexuality and its associated terms. Beyond
the individual, the society institutes
“discourses” or language s whose aim or
import is to “govern” the behaviour of
members of the society. These discourses
therefore reflect the power relations of
society over time , while also reflecting
different regional and or cultural
constructions of sexuality.
The cultural mediation of sexuality occurs
largely at the level of language and
associated interpretations, mores, laws
and practices, all of which are determined
by socio-cultural perceptions of sexuality
and of sex-gender relations. Both sexual
predilections and cultural taboos are thus
represented in language and influence
sexual communication. Language and
communication data certainly offers a
guide to the sexual predilections,
preferences and taboos of the cognate
society and culture.
Universality and Particularity
While sex is often regarded as a “universal
language,” different ethnicities, societies
and social groups may have different
ways of coding and expressing sexuality.
Taboo and legal restrictions may also
make communications concerning
sexuality less open in some societies than
in others.
In discussing the issue of sexuality,
language and communication in Africa,
we are interested in broad topics such as
s e x u a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d
communication of sexuality, the
relationship between language and sexual
orientation, sexuality education,
gendering through language, culture and
sexual communication, etc. However,
Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images
particularistic questions also inevitably
emerge: What, if any, are the peculiar
terms for sex and sexuality in Africa?
What are the verbal signs and the nonverbal
body (kinetic, vestment and
olfactory) cues? What are the underlying
communication principles (e.g. to
communicate “it” or not to communicate
“it”), and what are the taboos or special
challenges? Is the so called theory of
African silence on matters of sex and
sexuality myth or reality? Do certain
languages inhibit or promote sexual
communication and the communication
of sexuality. Are some sexual terms truly
non-existent in some languages? etc.
An inclusive, but not exhaustive, range of
topics include the following:
Verbal and non-verbal sexual
communication
O v e r t a n d c o v e r t s e x u a l
communications
Public and private sex talk
Gender and sexual communication
Communication of sexual consent
and sexual dissent
Communication across ethnic and
social boundaries, including age and
class.
Sex talk from eye contact to coition,
and beyond
Queer sex communication
Communication and social prejudice
Communication and sex education